Sanctuary Candle and candles in general?

[MonkMoses]

We don’t.

The Sanctuary Candle is for the Tabernacle, to show that Jesus is present within.

If there are votive candles, you can light a votive candle for any reason. There is usually a donation box close by so that you can donate for the use of the candle.

The sanctuary light (candle) is usually lit in remembrance of some one who has died. Most parishes list in the bulletin who made the offering for the candle and for who is being remembered (prayed for).

It does signify that the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle as well.

 

[Carmelite1]

Polish Princess, are you saying, that at your church they actually charge $15 to light the Sanctuary Candle and do it in the name of a specific deceased person?

Are you saying that the Sanctuary Candle (which is supposed to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle) is not lit unless someone pays $15 for it?

This is a very strange custom which I have never heard of before and certainly do not like the sound of it at all.

 

[jmcrae]

The sanctuary light (candle) is usually lit in remembrance of some one who has died. Most parishes list in the bulletin who made the offering for the candle and for who is being remembered (prayed for).

It does signify that the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle as well.

What country do you live in?

Here in Western Canada, where I live, such a thing would just not happen. I have never even heard of such a thing.

 

[jmcrae]

Polish Princess, are you saying, that at your church they actually charge $15 to light the Sanctuary Candle and do it in the name of a specific deceased person?

Are you saying that the Sanctuary Candle (which is supposed to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle) is not lit unless someone pays $15 for it?

This is a very strange custom which I have never heard of before and certainly do not like the sound of it at all.

It sounds very weird to me, too. Hopefully they would still light it for Jesus, even if there were no dead person to light it for.

 

[polishprincess]

We don’t.

The Sanctuary Candle is for the Tabernacle, to show that Jesus is present within.

If there are votive candles, you can light a votive candle for any reason. There is usually a donation box close by so that you can donate for the use of the candle.

Your church doesn’t have that???
GBU!

 

[MonkMoses]

Polish Princess, are you saying, that at your church they actually charge $15 to light the Sanctuary Candle and do it in the name of a specific deceased person?

Are you saying that the Sanctuary Candle (which is supposed to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle) is not lit unless someone pays $15 for it?

This is a very strange custom which I have never heard of before and certainly do not like the sound of it at all.

This is the case in every Roman Catholic parish I have ever belonged to…you usually have to put your name on a waiting list…no worry the lamp will not be lit. Asking for a stipend for lighting the lamp is no different than asking for a donation for having a mass said.

 

[jmcrae]

Your church doesn’t have that???
GBU!

NO, never.

 

[polishprincess]

Polish Princess, are you saying, that at your church they actually charge $15 to light the Sanctuary Candle and do it in the name of a specific deceased person?

Are you saying that the Sanctuary Candle (which is supposed to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle) is not lit unless someone pays $15 for it?

This is a very strange custom which I have never heard of before and certainly do not like the sound of it at all.

The Sanctuary Candle will be lit at all times. (NO MATTER WHAT!) However, if you want it lit for a specific reason, you are asked to give a $15 donation. IT IS ALWAYS LIT FOR A SPECIAL INTENTION BUT THEY WONT BLOW THE CANDLE OUT LIKE THEY DO AT BIRTHDAY PARTY’S IF THEY DONT GET THEIR MONEY! GBU!

 

[Brendan_64]

We light votive candles to represent our prayers, alongside the candles lit by those who were there before us, and those who light candles after us. The number of lit candles joins us together in prayer, as our prayers rise upwards to heaven together.

At least that’s my personal understanding of it.

 

[MonkMoses]

The Sanctuary Candle will be lit at all times. However, if you want it lit for a specific reason, you are asked to give a $15 donation.

A VERY common practice!

 

[jmcrae]

This is the case in every Roman Catholic parish I have ever belonged to…

I’m still curious - what country do you live in?

 

[polishprincess]

We light votive candles to represent our prayers, alongside the candles lit by those who were there before us, and those who light candles after us. The number of lit candles joins us together in prayer, as our prayers rise upwards to heaven together.

At least that’s my personal understanding of it.

 

[jmcrae]

The Sanctuary Candle will be lit at all times. (NO MATTER WHAT!) However, if you want it lit for a specific reason, you are asked to give a $15 donation. IT IS ALWAYS LIT FOR A SPECIAL INTENTION BUT THEY WONT BLOW THE CANDLE OUT LIKE THEY DO AT BIRTHDAY PARTY’S IF THEY DONT GET THEIR MONEY! GBU!

The only “specific reason” to light the Sanctuary Lamp is to show that Jesus is in the Tabernacle. They should not be asking for money to light it.

Use votive candles to pray for the dead, etc.

 

[polishprincess]

The Sanctuary Lamp is lit before the tabernacle when the Blessed Sacrament is present in the tabernacle.

Votive candles, which are different from the sanctuary lamp, are lit when we pray a prayer for the dead as a visible representation of our prayer.

 

[MonkMoses]

I’m still curious - what country do you live in?

I live in the USA. I have lived in NJ, NY, FL, CA, PA and WI. The practice of having the sanctuary light lit in remembrance of a deceased person has been the norm in each of these places.

 

[Brendan_64]

The only “specific reason” to light the Sanctuary Lamp is to show that Jesus is in the Tabernacle. They should not be asking for money to light it.

That to me seems like a wrong thing to do, I’ve never come across that.

 

[jmcrae]

I live in the USA. I have lived in NJ, NY, FL, CA, PA and WI. The practice of having the sanctuary light lit in remembrance of a deceased person has been the norm in each of these places.

It just sounds very weird, to me - we certainly have no such custom here.

They have to light the candle for Jesus, anyway - why would they ask money for it, and say that it was for a deceased person?

Surely Jesus outranks any deceased person.

 

[Carmelite1]

Sounds like a scam to me. The Sanctuary Candle is ALWAYS LIT but if you want it to be for a specific person then you pay $15.

So, any number of people can just pay $15 for a Candle that is ALWAYS LIT (hopefully, assuming it is initially lit to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle).

I am sorry but I am 83 years old and have been a member of a number of parishes (Roman Catholic, US, to be specific); and have never, ever, heard of such a thing.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

Sounds like a scam to me. The Sanctuary Candle is ALWAYS LIT but if you want it to be for a specific person then you pay $15.

So, any number of people can just pay $15 for a Candle that is ALWAYS LIT (hopefully, assuming it is initially lit to indicate that the Blessed Sacrament is present in the Tabernacle).

I am sorry but I am 83 years old and have been a member of a number of parishes (Roman Catholic, US, to be specific); and have never, ever, heard of such a thing.

This started in our Massachusetts parish maybe 5 years ago. The offering helps the parish by defraying the cost of those large Sanctuary Lamp candles. There’s a note in the Bulletin indicating in whose memory the Sanctuary Lamp is burning for the coming week. The offering is for a specific week, not for the lifespan of a particular candle. It’s a way of marking the memory of a deceased loved one. I like the idea. There’s no “double booking” - only one person for a given week.

 

[jmcrae]

This started in our Massachusetts parish maybe 5 years ago. The offering helps the parish by defraying the cost of those large Sanctuary Lamp candles. There’s a note in the Bulletin indicating in whose memory the Sanctuary Lamp is burning for the coming week. The offering is for a specific week, not for the lifespan of a particular candle. It’s a way of marking the memory of a deceased loved one. I like the idea. There’s no “double booking” - only one person for a given week.

Actually, there is a double-booking - with Jesus.

If the candle has to be lit for Jesus anyway, how does it make any sense to say that it is being lit for some other reason?

If the parish is short of funds, they should just say so, instead of making something up like this.